1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector, and in particular to a connector in which at least one detachable module is inserted.
2. Description of Prior Art
With the advancement of electronic industry, various kinds of electronic devices are widely used in our daily life. In order to input commands to control the electronic devices or transmit data among the respective electronic devices, most of the electronic devices are provided with a connector for this purpose.
For example, a personal computer is a very popular electronic device, on which a plurality of connectors is provided, such as a Universal Series Bus (USB) connector, an External Serial Advance Technology Attachment (e-SATA) connector, a RJ-45 connector, a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connector or the like. A transmission line is connected to an external control device for receiving the inputted commands. Alternatively, a transmission line is connected to another electronic device for transmitting data among the respective electronic devices.
In order to save the transmission lines and extend the data transmission distance, the current electronic device is provided with a wireless transmission module, such as a Radio Frequency (RF) module, an Infrared Rays (IR) module, a Bluetooth module, or a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) module. Each of the electronic devices transmits data by means of its associated wireless transmission module. In this way, the cost of the transmission lines is saved, and the data can be transmitted more rapidly.
However, no matter in the connector or the wireless transmission module, a circuit board (or a mother board) inside the electronic device occupies a large space. If more connectors or wireless transmission modules are mounted on the circuit board, these connectors or wireless transmission modules inevitably occupy a larger space on the circuit board. As a result, the circuit board needs to be made larger accordingly. Further, the circuitry on the circuit board has to be re-arranged carefully, which increases the difficulty in production.
Thus, a stacked connector assembly is proposed, in which a plurality of connectors and wireless transmission modules are stacked up vertically. By this arrangement, the occupied area on the circuit board is equal to that of one connector. Although a plurality of connectors and wireless transmission modules of the same kind or different kinds can be integrated in such a stacked connector assembly, the connectors are fixedly mounted in the stacked connector assembly, which means that a user cannot change the fixed connectors and wireless transmission modules on demands. For example, a USB connector, a SATA connector and a Bluetooth wireless transmission module are integrated on the stacked connector assembly to occupy a reduced space on the mother board, however, such a stacked connector assembly cannot provide a Wi-Fi function because there is no Wi-Fi module in such a stacked connector assembly. As a result, it is necessary to additionally mount a Wi-Fi module on the mother board.
In view of the above, there is a need for a novel connector assembly, in which a plurality of connectors and wireless transmission modules are integrated. Further, the wireless transmission modules can be freely detached from the connector assembly and replaced by other kinds of wireless transmission modules, thereby increasing the practicability and convenience of the connector assembly.